How social and temporal comparisons shape subjective aging

How we perceive and evaluate our own aging is shaped by both social and temporal comparisons. Social comparison involves evaluating oneself in relation to others, whereas temporal comparison focuses on assessing changes within oneself over time. Comparative information can produce opposing effects, causing individuals to feel either relatively younger or older than their chronological age: While temporal comparisons are often perceived as threatening in the second half of life, social comparisons are frequently employed to bolster self-perceptions. We investigated how social and temporal comparisons shape subjective aging in two studies, a longitudinal (Study 1, N = 2,425, 39-93 years; 55.5% women) and an experimental study (Study 2, N = 160, 50-75 years, 58% women). The results of both studies demonstrate that "me vs. them" comparisons result in feeling relatively younger, whereas "me vs. past/future me" comparisons lead to feeling relatively older. Study 2 also reveals evidence for the mediating role of self-perceptions of aging in this relationship. We discuss how social and temporal comparisons influence subjective age in opposite ways, offering important insights into the cognitive and motivational processes underlying subjective aging. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).